Why do some people think it is so hard to get protein as a vegetarian?

Question

This astounds me. It's like they haven't noticed that the food pyramid also includes eggs, beans, legumes, soy and nuts under the same section as meat. And you only need TWO of these in a day...how hard is it to squeeze in a PB sandwich and some beans in a day? Vegetarians are probably the only people in this country who aren't overloading their livers with too much protein.

Furthermore, I don't think it is all that easy to become malnourished as long as you are eating something. I had PTSD for two years as a child and only ate mac&cheese, mac&tomatos, carrots, oreos and fruit. I never became sickly or malnourished.

We don't need to kill animals to be healthy, quite the contrary, I think that proteins from animal flesh are downright toxic to the human body. The only reason people eat this stuff is because they like the taste and they don't have to kill it themselves.

Sorry about the rant, I've just read too many ignorant posts lateley.

I should add that I've been a vegetarian my entire life, a vegan for the past two years and I have NEVER had any nutrition-related health problems. In fact, the health problem I do have (PCT) is helped immensly by my diet. I've never pained myself over keeping track of nutrients either.

Answer 1

What everyone else said. PLUS I want to add that I believe ALL animal proteins are toxic, not just flesh. They have the same kinds of proteins and they all have cholesterol - animal product is animal product when it comes to effect it has on our bodies.

Speaking of protein quality...here is a quote from the amazing Dr. Campell on protein:

"Food proteins of the highest quality are, very simply, those that provide, upon digestion, the right kinds and amounts of amino acids needed to efficiently synthesize our new tissue proteins. This what that word QUALITY really means: it is the ability of food proteins to provide the right kinds and amounts of amino acids to make our new proteins.

Can you guess what food we might eat to most efficiently provide the building blocks for our replacement proteins? The answer is human flesh. Its protein has just the right amount of the needed amino acids. But while our fellow men and women are not for dinner, we do get the next "best" protein by eating other animals. The proteins of other animals are very similar to our proteins because they mostly have the right amount of each of the needed amino acids. These proteins can be used very efficiently and therefore are called HIGH QUALITY. Among animal foods, the proteins of milk and eggs represent the best amino acid matches for our proteins. and thus are considered the highest quailty. While the LOWER QUAIY plant proteins may be lacking in one or more of the essential amino acids, as a group they DO contain all of them. The concept of quality really means the efficiency with which food proteins are used to promote growth. This would be well and good if the greatest efficiency equaled the greatest health, but it doesn't, and that's why the terms of efficiency and quality are misleading. In fact, to give you a taste of what's to come [in his book, THE CHINA STUDY], there is a mountain of compelling research showing that low-quality plant protein, which allows for slow, but steady synthesis of new proteins, is the healthiest type of proteins. Slow but steady wins the race. The quality of protein found in a specific food is determined by seeing how fast animals would grow while consuming it. Some foods, namely those from animals. emerge with very high protein efficiency ratio and value.

This focus on efficiency of body growth, as if it were good health, encourages the consumption of proteins with the highest QUALITY. As any marketer will tell you, a product that is defined as being high quality instantly earns the trust of consumers. For well over 100 years we have been captive to this misleading language and have oftentimes made the unfortunate leap to thinking that more quality equals more health.

The basis for this concept of protein quality was not well known among the public, but its impact was - and still is- highly significant. People, for example, who choose to consume a plant-based diet will often ask, even today, WHERE DO I GET MY PROTEIN? as if plants don't have protein. Even if it is known that plants have protein, there is still the concern about its perceived poor quality. This has led people to believe that they must meticulously combine proteins from different plant sources during each meal so that they can mutually compensate for each other's amino acid deficits. However, this is overstating the case. We now know that through enormously complex metabolic system, the human body can derive all the essential amino acids frm the natural variety of plant proteins that we encounter every day. It doesn't require eating higher quantities of plant protein or meticulously planning every meal. Unfortunately, the enduring concept of protein quality has greatly obscured this information."

That book is a WEALTH of information and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone, but vegetarians will find it especially interesting.
http://thechinastudy.com
It blew my mind. It still does.

Answer 2

Pretty much every family that has long lineage in the US has been brainwashed to believe that protein comes from meat and to a lesser degree eggs and may not even think of dairy as a protein source. It was taught in schools for generations and repeated y everyones parents.They are too busy thinking about how much their bodies need calcium from milk or else the lawnmower will rip their arms off like that stupid "GOT MILK!?!?!!?!?" commercial.

Most people do not read a shred of nutrition information. They just hear what the boob tube feeds them and what false information their miseducated family/friends/neighbors like to reinforce with each other.

It never crosses their minds how small elephants and giraffes are because an ounce of meat never once enters their bodies. I suppose that they're all water and fat like those silly camels.

Answer 3

A little annoyed huh? I think people are just more aware that meat is full of protein. Plus the meat industry has to stay in business so they promote their product with all the nutrients it provides. The meat company really doesn't even need to advertise because every other food company does it for them. You are right, you can live off of almost nothing. It's just a little healthier to get a variety. Eating foods does more than keep us alive, it also helps our eyes, our blood flow, and so on, I'm sure you already know. As long as you watch what you eat and have a variety of foods you should be good. (plus some vegetarians don't eat eggs) We, as in the human race, have been eating meat for ever, the only difference between now and then is that they weren't able to have meat every day, several times a day. They had to hunt it, kill it, treat it and cook it. People were lucky if they got meat once a week. We were much more dependent on fruits and vegetables. Meat is just more assessable now while as a vegetarian you actually have to think about what you eat. It's a sad world huh?

my motto is everything in moderation.

Answer 4

Most people are fairly ignorant about nutrition in general and the powerful beef and dairy lobbies have drilled it into the American head for generations now that their products are essential sources of protein. It was bad before, but then the whole "protein power"/Atkins thing took off and suddenly it's that much worse. Most people don't know how damaging excess protein can be to your body (or maybe they LIKE the idea of leaching calcium from their bones?) I was at an extended family gathering once when a distant relative lit into me about being vegetarian; she actually said, "My friend was a vegetarian once but she had to stop because she was protein deficient. She ate nothing but macaroni and cheese." Well, clearly this friend WAS deficient, but it sure as hell wasn't protein that she was lacking! I just consider it my option to provide some good info about veg proteins to people who are honestly curious, or to brush off the people who have their minds closed about the whole thing.

Answer 5

I agree, it is not difficult... As a University student with two jobs, I did not even have time to cook for myself, so I was eating mostly only peanut butter sandwiches all day...
But you should not judege peoples that eat meat since birth, they get used to it, so it became parts of their life, as being vegan from birth has been part of your life. Yes, meat has bad proteins in it, and meat fat provide bad cholesterols, but it appear that we are both capable of eating meat AND vegetables, so chosing between one of the two, is not really the only option available to most peoples.
And strange things, most vegans have choosen to become vegan, but I do not know many vegans that have begin to eat meat later on. Its not because we are more educated, and know more things about meat than 50 years ago, its just because they are much less vegans than other eating habits.
My grandpa is not a vegan, he don`t eat meat either, but he eat noodles soup and drink wine... So how you will call this eating habit ? ;)

Answer 6

its because when omnivores think of protien, whats the first thing that pops into an omnivores head? Meat.
And since vegetarians don't eat meat, where is the protien from.

And same with vegans!! (milk issue)... im a vegan. I have this problem all the time how people ask me this, its annoying
Calcium?? Most think milk!!

~Lauren

Answer 7

Because it's been drilled into our heads through the media that protein comes from meat. Notice how you never see ads that say how legumes or whole wheat are a great low fat healthy protein source?

Answer 8

Geesh, I know...my sister found out I stopped eating meat and texted me "Be careful, you need LOTS of protein." I wanted to scream, I am studying nutrition and have read a ton of book, all of which make fun of the obsessive protein culture that is so inacurate.

Answer 9

Some people apparently think that in order to *have* muscle tissue, they need to *eat* muscle tissue, even though oxen, elephants, rhinos & other megafauna develop their powerfully built bodies by eating plants.
The 1st thing most ppl ask me when they learn I'm veggie is, "but where do you get your protein?" It's obvious that I get more than enough w/o giving it too much thought. My nails and hair are strong & grow quickly, my skin is healthy & I'm obviously not wasting away.
I agree, we not only don't need to eat meat but our bodies are so much better off without it.

Answer 10

*has to stifle a chuckle*

I find it hard to believe that people on an omnivorous diet aren't malnourished. When I compare my food to say, my boyfriend's when we go out to eat, he has 50% meat or more on his plate. We never argue about it, but in my head I think, "How is he getting all his nutrients?"

People are just fed (literally) that they get protein from meat from birth and that's that. It's ignorance at first, and then it's not wanting to acknowledge that there are alternatives.